Hi neighbors,

I live on 19th Street south of Park Slope and am trying to find an internet service provider. I previously had Time Warner but had major issues with spotty service and, of course, terrible customer service that never resolved the issues. I have checked with both Verizon and Comcast and both say they can/do not provide service to my area “because Time Warner controls that area.”
Does anyone have any experience with this or have any suggestions as to a different provider? Or can it be true that Time Warner really holds a monopoly? Is this legal?

Thanks for any help/comments!


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. It’s a franchise agreement with the city/state. If cable/telephones were left to free enterprise they would only go to dense & profitable areas and leave the rest of the city unconnected. The companies are given a local monopoly in exchange for providing service to all addresses and having price increases and other changes approved by government. This way instead of some people getting the best and some getting nothing, everyone gets an average product. One could say this is why socialism failed.

  2. Thanks for your helpful comments. Verizon says simply that they do not provide internet service at my address, and that’s all the information they can provide. I am on 19th street between 6th and 7th avenue – maybe it’s just my block?
    I don’t want to go with DirecTV because I don’t want cable TV, I just want internet (cable TV prices are too expensive for me).
    It’s really abominable that the government allows monopolies like this. No wonder Time Warner is known for being terrible – they have no incentive to treat their customers with even the least bit of respect, because there is no other option!
    I will definitely take a look at Clear – thanks for the help!

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